No More Pirates (Book Two)

Introduction - How They Met

Many years ago...

The young maiden runs as fast and as far as she can from the Evil Queen's castle. Jumping over limbs and bushes, she pushes faster.

Earlier, as soon as night fell, she executed her escape plan perfectly. Not a flaw, not a ripple. She was free, but not completely. She needed a way out of the Queen's kingdom.

Approaching a small village near the coast, she stops running. Without a moment's hesitation, she expertly slips through the trees, snatching a dress and cloak from a drying line.

"This village," she thinks to herself, "could be my ticket out of here,".

She emerges from the woods fully dressed in her newfound rags and cloak. The collar teases a bit of her fair skin and the dress exposes part of her slender legs, just enough to attract a wandering eye.

At the outer edge of the village nearest the water, lies a tavern. Through the darkness, she can see the elegant outline of a ship. A pirate ship.

She pulls the hood of her stolen cloak over her head to sheild her face from anyone that might recognize her.

She slips inside, grabbing a drunkard's mug as she passes through the doorway. She sits alone in a corner with her mug where she can see everyone in the room. She sips the mug, letting the alcohol slowly warm her chilled bones. Too long, she was locked in that wretched place, taunted with promises of her death. Her escape was long overdue.

The gleam of steel across the room catches her eye. The metal, in the form of a hook, is attached to a man, rather than an object. Her eye is quickly drawn away when a bearded sailor begins strumming a guitar. The men around him clap their hands and sing,

"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!
We pillage, plunder, rifle and loot,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!"

The tune rings in her ears as she turns back to the gleaming silver in her periphery. Her eyes follow the sharp black lines of leather up to a handsome face. His ocean blue eyes cut through the darkness of his figure, almost like stars in the night sky. His skin, freckled with the unshavenness of his scruff is clear as the sky and glows tan as a leather hide. His exposed chest, decorated with dark hair adorns a large silver necklace. His ear bears a dangling earing. His one hand, weighed down with several rings. Everything about him screams pirate.

Before she can convince herself not to, she stands to join the man who happily grips his mug and laughs with a group of men. She slams her drink down in front of the hooked man, silencing him. Her face srill shrouded, she stares him down.

"Gentlemen," he smirks, his eyes locked on her. "I have a feeling this fine lass would like to speak to me alone."

The men give him a knowing look that he seems not to notice. If the pirate looked at her exposed chest any harder, he'd burn a hole in her skin.

Ignoring his obvious distraction, she speaks firmly, "You're a pirate," he nods, a confident smile on his lips.

"Captain, actually." His blue eyes meet hers. He winks.

"Well, Captain. I need your help."

The captain's smile grows wider. "Help with what, exactly?" He leans back in attempt to see the stranger's face, to no avail.

"I need safe passage. I don't care where. I need to get far away from this kingdom."

He stares at the darkened face closely. "You're a fugitive," The woman lets out a sharp breath. "Scary, isn't it? Some say my perception is almost eerie."

She sits perfectly still. "Are you going to help me or not? Because I'm sure there's plenty of other captains that would love the opportunity to let me on their ship,"

The captain liked where this was going. "Remove your hood," he demands.

The girl glances left and right. Slowly, she reveals herself. Her sun-deprived skin glows in the dimly lit tavern. Green eyes sparkle with the flames dancing on the table. She was striking.

The captain grins. "Please allow me to introduce myself. Killian Jones." He throws up his hand theatrically. "But, most people have taken to calling me by my more colorful moniker, Hook." He holds up the shining piece of metal attached where his left hand should be. "And you are?" He raises a skeptical eyebrow.

Her name, Esther, taken from her mother did not sound suitable for a pirate. The letter E spins through her mind.

Yo ho.

"Elizabeth,"

A pirate's life for me.